When Tyrell Goulbourne, the hard-hitting, 24-year-old winger from Edmonton, was up with the Flyers for a brief spell last month, he found out something about himself: He could play in the NHL.
Goulbourne was sent back to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms last week and vowed to return.
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You get the sense the Flyers would love having him back. Listed at 6-foot, 200 pounds, though more likely 5-10, all Goulbourne did was blast opposing players with hard checks, wasn’t afraid to muck it up in the corners and gave a great boost of energy to a team that needed it.
“I’ll be back,” said Goulbourne, who carries the jacked physical structure more for playing across the street at Lincoln Financial Field as a running back for the Eagles than burying guys on the ice playing hockey. “This has been a great experience for me. It’s a different level up here, obviously, and a dream that I got a chance to live.
“Being physical has always been part of my game. I consider myself a physical guy. I’m not as tall as most guys, but I can throw my weight around pretty well, so being physical is part of my game. I like it.”
Goulbourne grew up in Canada playing soccer, then switched over to playing ice hockey and running track. It may explain his physique, which is compact and muscular, a little differently from the typical hockey build, which today is taller and leaner.
“I still have some catching up when it comes to the game because I started hockey I would say later than most,” said Goulbourne, the Flyers’ 2015 third-round pick who has resurrected his career with his tenacious play. “I really didn’t get fully immersed in the game until I was 13 or 14, while most kids playing hockey in Canada would start out playing competitively at around 6 or 7.
“In my time with the Flyers, I’ve learned a lot. For one, it’s positioning. Everyone always seems to be in the right spots. D-men, for example, don’t tend to wander. It’s easier to play with your wingers, because they’re always in the right spots, too. It’s a faster game up here [as opposed to the AHL, where the Phantoms plays]. There’s a lot of tight checking at the NHL level.”
Philadelphia loves players like Goulbourne. On his first-ever shift in the NHL, Goulbourne nailed St. Louis Blues’ 6-foot-3, 210-pound defenseman Alex Pietrangelo with his second check, setting up a Scott Laughton first-period goal in the Flyers’ 6-3 win.
“A year ago, I was playing in Reading, in the East Coast League, and this year I’m playing in the NHL and going between there and Lehigh Valley,” the rather soft-spoken Goulbourne said. “It’s been a blessing and I’m grateful for how long I was with the Flyers for. I enjoyed my time there and I want to go back.
“This experience has helped me build my confidence. I know now that I can skate with these guys and that’s encouraging for the future.”
You get the sense that Flyers’ fans may be seeing Goulbourne again.